


Advantage Players

by Eissel



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Casino AU, Drinking, Ed gets Played by 2 different people at least, Espionage, F/M, Gambling, Mafia AU, She is Absolutely Right, Winry Thinks Ed is an Easily Charmed Dumbass, Winry and Jean would absolutely be friends in a Casino AU, Yes Both Heathcliff and Maes are Alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26213767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eissel/pseuds/Eissel
Summary: Ed’s been tasked to infiltrate a casino that belongs to the rivals of his family. Fully intending on cleaning them out, he doesn’t expect to fall for the cute waitress in the bar section.He also doesn’t expect her to be his most terrifying opponent.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, Winry Rockbell & Jean Havoc
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15
Collections: FMA: S H A R K





	Advantage Players

**Author's Note:**

> Card Sharp|Card Shark: (Noun) An expert card player  
> Someone who cheats at card games  
>   
> (yes, I realize that I am stretching the limits of the word “shark” for this prompt but I wanted to do a Casino AU so damn badly this month)  
> Additionally, I recommend that you listen to Preach, You’re Nobody Until Somebody Wants You Dead, or A Good Song Never dies by Saint Motel to set the mood.

As soon as Ed walks into the  _ Crown Diamond _ , he wanders around for a little, observing the ongoing games and such, then he heads for the bathroom, and then for the bar, where he orders a tequila sunrise that’s more there for him to sip at and look busy than actually enjoy. Over the rim of the colorful drink, he observes the patrons of the casino, as well as its staff.

The  _ Diamond  _ wasn’t  _ exactly _ an exclusive place, but it  _ definitely  _ catered to those who were  _ in the know  _ so to speak, and there weren’t  _ many _ people who managed to get in on their own without an invitation. 

Hence why he was still dully surprised that his fake had gotten him through. That meant either 1 of 2 things had happened:

  1. Envy’s little ruse had actually worked 
  2. His targets for the evening knew he was a plant



He wasn’t about to bank on A being the case. Envy had it out for him, and Ed was sure that the other agent would happily sabotage the mission if it meant getting rid of Edward.

So he settled in and tried to blend in with the crowd, somewhat confident that his targets wouldn’t be able to feasibly pick him out if he just sat at the bar, not giving away what he was really here for. After all, they’d be looking for a dirty blond with brown eyes, not a golden haired, golden eyed man. As he continues to sip at the cocktail, he watches the staff as they go about their jobs; the waitresses running orders and food to and fro to the classier guests, the bartenders easily and quickly serving up drinks when called, the floor workers dealing in suckers and collecting bets.

And to think that every single person on the staff was a member of one of the most notorious crime families in Central. Not that Ed could talk, glass houses and all that. Though the staff wasn’t why he was here… well, at least it wasn’t the full story.

The  _ Diamond  _ was staffed exclusively by people from the Mustang Family purely because of its high profitability and for its ability to act as a way to launder any dirty money the family gained from their shadier activities. Obviously, outsiders would threaten that security, either in reporting the establishment to the cops, or by trying to get in a cut of the profits. Keeping things in the family simplified things. 

Ed could appreciate the ingenuity of the scheme, and if he had the final say, then that would be that. But Ed wasn’t the person calling the shots, that was his uncle, Axel Hohenheim (who liked to call himself Father, but whom Ed always referred to as  _ Axel  _ in a minor show of rebellion). He appreciated the money laundering aspect of it, as well as the casino’s sheer profitability, which rounded out why Ed was even here in the first place. 

All he had to do was scope the place, find the tech guy (because as ostentatious as the casino was, it was still small enough to only really need one tech guy,  _ maybe _ two if they were in a real bind) and get out with the guy in tow. Then they’d get all the info about how everything in the casino was set up one way or the other, and send the techie back to the Mustangs one way or another.

Whether that way was in a body bag or not just depended on how…  _ cooperative _ the tech guy would be during the interrogation.

His uncle hoped that with the  _ Diamond _ ’s secrets under their belt, the Hohenheims would be able to put a dent in the Mustangs’ profits, which would allow the Hohenheims to stage a come back in the world of the Underground. Not that Ed could really see that happening. 

The Mustangs were  _ old  _ money, and the Hohenheims weren’t. Well, not anymore at least. Ed had heard a  _ million  _ different rants about how “if it was back then they wouldn’t dare encroach on our territory” and “if our family hadn’t tried to go clean then the likes of them wouldn’t be able to look down on us”. Ed, quite frankly, didn’t give a shit.

He was just here to do his job and buy himself some insurance from the rest of the family so they didn’t go and start threatening Al. His younger brother had no idea Ed was mired so deep in the shadier side of the family, and Ed intended to keep it that way. 

He downed the cocktail to put any thoughts of Al being harmed out of his mind, but he needed to order something else too, and quick before someone noticed that he didn’t have any business being at a bar with no food or drink and kicked him out. He’s at a table though, so he can’t just flag down the bartender; not that he could’ve even if he was  _ at _ the counter, since he’d probably be immediately kicked out for acting like some drunk-off-his-ass bastard.

Suddenly, it hits him that he hadn’t gotten a good look at the bartender who’d served him when he ordered the cocktail, too focused on making sure that all the parts of his disguise had gotten disposed of properly to care. He makes a little half turn twist so he can see the counter better as he calmly and simultaneously rings the bell on his table to call over a waitress. 

The barman for his section is a sandy blond, with a brilliant smile and wiry arms. He mixes the drinks well, barely pausing between orders, even as he chats with the customers and staff alike. He puts out a B-52, then a gin & tonic, and another tequila sunrise like Ed had ordered. The man is  _ good _ .

He knows without looking that the man’s name tag that his name is Jean Havoc, mostly because the file on Havoc fit the bartender to a T. While a little surprised that the Mustangs put him on  _ bartending  _ duty of all places, it still does make some sort of sense. His file  _ had  _ said that the man liked to spend his free time at bars, flirting with ladies and such, he had to have a good eye for drinks.

Havoc’s going to be a thorn in his side though, mostly because despite his dopey demeanor, he’s got a reputation for quick kills when the target doesn’t realize it. He’s also got a reputation for  _ messy  _ kills too, but that’s mostly the fault of his pump-action shotgun than any real fault the man has on his own. 

Someone hums above him, and Ed redirects his attention to focus in on what are quite possibly the bluest eyes he’s ever seen. He tries to place her face, but he can’t, clearly a new kid to the casino, and therefore not a threat. If she was going to be a threat to the operation she’d have a file, and she  _ doesn’t _ .

That doesn’t mean that she can’t kick his ass though, so he keeps his tone nice and polite as he orders a straight whiskey and some light finger foods. She nods, writes it down, and bounces back away to relay the orders, first at the counter then to the central kitchen.

It’s a credit to the Mustangs that they get their orders done quick, really, it is. He has his food and drink done in 10 minutes. He smiles kindly at the blonde as she serves him, and takes small sips of his whiskey as he locates and observes the important members of the staff.

Back at the door is Heathcliff Erbe, a tough, no-nonsense enforcer whose fists are less akin to skin and bone and more akin to  _ brick _ . Even if Ed wasn’t already committed to stealthiness, Erbe would  _ make  _ him go stealthy, lest he feel the impact of those brick-like fists on his face. 

At the center table is Heymans Breda, a cocky smirk on his lips as he deals out cards to the group he’s with. Breda, while not as much of a danger as say, Erbe, or Havoc, is still a card to look out for. He’s good at fooling people into seeing what he wants them to, and while this would normally make him the main target of Ed’s observations, the man is also a pretty good observer in his own right, and the last thing Ed wants is someone altered of his activities.

Walking over to the second floor stairs is Vato Falman, a number of files tucked under his arm. Files that Ed would  _ love _ to get his hands on if this were a different mission. He works as the bookkeeper of the  _ Diamond _ , but he occasionally moonlights as a tech guy. If his main target for the night doesn’t show his face then Ed will settle for him, especially since it was rumored that the guy had a photographic memory or something like it.

Speaking of the second floor, that’s where Maes Hughes, Riza Hawkeye, and Roy Mustang sit, looking over the ground floor of the casino. Or rather, Hawkeye is monitoring the floor while Hughes and Mustang talk. Hawkeye will be the death of his operation if he isn’t careful. She’s better than most security cameras _ and _ smart enough to know when she’s spotted a card counter or plain regular cheat. If he starts a scene, she’s also strong enough to subdue him, even if he had weapons on his side. 

Hughes is sharp too, another dealer, but he looks like he’s here in his businessman-guise tonight, perhaps looking to extort or coerce one of the patrons once he’s done with whatever he’s talking with Mustang about. 

Mustang is an oddity. As the bastard heir to the Mustang family (and there were whispers that he also had a claim to some of the Amestrian Triad branches’ riches via his mother), he by all rights shouldn’t have been anywhere  _ near _ visible areas, lest someone try and take him out, be they family grunts or outside forces. But yet here he was, on full display in a dealer’s get up, tossing a deck of cards back and forth. Still, Ed knows better not to underestimate him, since it’s likely that if Ed’s presence here  _ has  _ been leaked, it’ll have been leaked by the man’s quite frankly,  _ massive  _ network. 

The rest of the staff weren’t on the files, but Ed notices one conspicuous absence:

Kain Fuery. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to attribute the success of the casino to him, and  _ he  _ was Ed’s main target for tonight. The technician held all the secrets about the  _ Diamond’s _ casino machines and its dealers tricks. Now if only Ed could  _ find _ the man… Well, the best way to do that would be to start playing the machines and break one of them so the man would have to be called to repair it.

Finally done with his observations, Ed drained the rest of the whiskey and placed the now empty glass on top of his plate and rings the bell again.

* * *

“Thanks.” He says offhandedly to the waitress once she comes to pick up his glasses and plate. “Actually,” he pauses, unsure if it would be taken as an insult, or worse as an  _ invitation _ . The waitress is cute, but Ed  _ really _ isn’t here for that kind of stuff, not to mention that it just makes him uncomfortable. Still, it’ll work to make him blend in more. “Do you take tips?”

“Well… Casino policy is no tips...” She smiles, and she tugs on her hair, looking the very picture of an innocent girl. “But I’m good at hiding things, so if you’d  _ like... _ ” Ed nods, and withdraws a larger bill, handing it to her in a way that no one else can see. 

Her eyes skim over the note, but she doesn’t make a fuss, she’s clearly smart. She slips the bill in between the two smaller ones Ed had used to pay for the whiskey and food, stuffing the whole package into her pocket. 

“I hope you come again~” She smiles before walking away. Ed watches her for a minute or two, then gets up himself, deciding to wander to the casino floor.

* * *

Ed took a seat at a table in the back, slightly obscured by the dark shadows of the corner he was in. He would have preferred a seat on the second floor, but he had a feeling that the second floor was…  _ reserved.  _

So he contented himself in this little spot, where he could watch Hawkeye and Hawkeye couldn’t  _ quite  _ watch  _ him _ . 

The dealer was a woman, pretty, but not on his radar for the night. She shuffled the deck quickly and rifled it before dealing. Ed stared at the motion in complete boredom. While Ed was good at card games, he never liked playing card games, or really, any game, at a casino. Casinos aimed to profit, and skewed the odds in the favor of the house. 

And all you had to do to  _ win _ was exploit that skewed nature and make it work for you. Of course Lady Luck might frown at you occasionally for doing so, but it really wasn’t that big of a setback. 

His eyes strayed to the machines, which he had aimed to play before learning that they were all apparently due for maintenance. He had asked when the mechanic would show up, but the staff member had only smiled apologetically and said she hadn’t known, and so Ed had been resigned to playing table games until Fuery showed up.

“Everyone’s alright with Blackjack?” the woman crooned as she shuffled. Ed nodded as the rest of the table erupted with a chorus of “yes”es. Great. He had landed himself with a table of drunks. He could feel the headache already.

She smiled mysteriously and dealt the cards out. Ed took a look at the faces of those around him before glancing at his own cards. The pair of men that sat directly across from him had shitty poker faces, and Ed wondered if they were brothers or something since they shared the  _ exact same poker face _ . Both blonds had slight scrunched up noses, and their eyes were bright with desperation. To Ed’s direct right, the young, college-aged looking girl had a blank face, and the other guy seated to Ed’s direct left seemed a bit worried, but Ed wasn’t completely sure.

He watched as the dealer laid her second card face down, eye glued to any clues it might offer him. 

A woman’s face peeked out at him right before she set it all the way down.  _ Queen _ . He glanced at the upcard.  _ 3 of hearts _ . That was dealer 13.

He looked at his own hand.

Ace and nine of hearts. That was either a 10 or a 20 depending. Well, he doubted he was going to get another _Ace_ come next round, but it ultimately didn’t matter. She had a 13, he had a 20. Unless someone was lucky enough to get an Ace and a face card, he had won. 

“Alright, place your bets!” She called. Ed put down two chips in his box. If he recalled correctly, 1 chip was worth 1000 cenz when it came to standard games like this, when players were playing against the dealer and not each other.

She pointed to the person on her far left. That would be the girl on Ed’s right. 

“Hit.” She said quietly. She dealt her a card, she glanced at it, then threw down her hand in disgust. A bust then. She pointed to Ed. 

“Stand.” He said bored.

She pointed to the other guy.

“Stand.”

Then the first brother.

“...Stand.”

And finally the other brother.

“Hit.” She handed him the card. He looked, and the worry disappeared from his face. Not a bust. She flipped over her hole card, and Ed smiled as he placed his card on the table face up.

He had 20. The Ishvalan guy beside him had 15, the younger looking brother a 19, and the older looking brother 18. It was really a shame that Blackjack wasn’t player vs player, or Ed would’ve won handily. As it was, he still was now 2000 cenz richer. 

“Anyone up for another game?” The dealer asked. Ed smiled, and nodded, watching as she opened a new deck and started shuffling.

* * *

It was getting late, and Fuery had yet to show his face. That was fine, because Ed could wait all night if he needed to. Still, it was getting a bit tedious. He had won 3 times at Blackjack at his first table before deliberately losing.

He then jumped to a poker table where he won twice then deliberately lost, then won twice again.

Tempeln was his game of choice at the third table he’d hopped to. Or rather, he was  _ about  _ to play Tempeln when the blonde waitress from earlier in the night slid over to the table. Her eyes were somehow  _ bluer _ in this light. Earlier it seemed like one solid color, but now they were like a blue gradient, he could see all kinds of shades from indigo to bluebell in those irises as she stared at him with a hint of a smirk on her face. 

If he wasn’t tired, if he hadn’t been so focused on Kain Fuery’s absence, if she had been in his dossier… Maybe he would have seen through her scheme.

But then again, looking back on it… Maybe not.

“What are you all playing?” She asked.

“Tempeln.” Ed answered smoothly. “Did you want to join?”

“I don’t like Tempeln very much.  _ I  _ prefer Alchemie. Have you ever played before? Not many people have.” A shock ran down his spine at her words.

Alchemie, as in the card game that was popular out East. He knew it like the back of his hand of course, but that was because everyone in the Hohenheim family had to know it. What was this waitress, at a  _ Mustang  _ establishment no less, doing with knowledge of how to play Alchemie?

Surprisingly enough, there were two other people than Ed who nodded. It was the Xingese lady, and an Ishvalan man with thin glasses, this one different from the one from the blackjack table from earlier, but he possessed a similar facial structure to the other man, and Ed suspected that they were related.

“Would anyone like to play then? Don’t worry if you don’t know how, I’ll explain the rules before we play.” The waitress offered. Ed smiled, and sheepishly raised his hand, already walking over to take the place vacated by the brunette dealer who’d left once she realized that the waitress was winning over the crowd. His eyes caught a flash of silver as he walked, and he turned his head briefly to stare as a young looking man walked over to the slot machines and opened up the back of one.

_ Silver glasses, mechanic, a brunet.  _ He willed the man to look over in Ed’s direction. A frustrated patron banged on one of the working machines, the petite man looked up sharply. Ed had to hide a grin. 

There was Kain Fuery, and now all he had to do was observe him for the rest of the night, or get him in a position where he could get him  _ out  _ of the casino.

But first he had a game to win.

* * *

They sat in this order: The waitress, the Xingese lady, Ed, the Ishvalan man, an older looking lady whose hair was  _ clearly _ dyed judging by the roots showing, and a musclebound man that brought images of Detective Olivier Armstrong into his head.

“Who wants to shuffle a deck?” The waitress asked, holding up the Amestrian and Cretan packs. Ed took the Cretan from her, and the Xingese woman took the Cretan. Ed kept an eye on the lady’s shuffle even as he started to shuffle his, the movements of the Monegan Shuffle basically being second nature to him, though he paused in completing the shuffle when he realized what the woman was doing.

The Xingese girl dealt out what Ed counted about 15 cards into a new pile into her hand, the rifled the deck. A Gilbreath Shuffle, done of course more or less out of sight of the dealer, though not out of his sight. Though she probably didn’t realize that Ed was looking for things like that. 

He changed his strategy, switching from Monegan to Gilbreath.

The waitress collected their shuffled decks, then rifled  _ them _ together, then she dealt out 8 cards to everyone, and placed the deck to her right.

Alchemie was played like the demented love child of Templen and Spoons, which meant that play flowed from the waitress to the musclebound man. The objective, like in Spoons, was to collect certain types of cards, though Alchemie didn’t require that the deck be all-of-a-kind, unlike Spoons. Like in Templen, players had to bet on what card would come up next, but instead of ending it there, the winner of the bet would claim the card, passing on one card of their choice to the player to their right just like in Spoons.

Of course, given that Alchemie was played with 2 differently numbered and suited decks, they normally would’ve had a problem with the Templen portion of the game, but that was irrelevant since the waitress had drawn the Templen tables with no suit signifier.

Ed glanced at his cards. 

_ Ace of Spades _

_ King of Hearts _

_ 3 of Coins _

_ 7 of Staves _

_ 5 of Leaves _

_ 8 of Clovers _

_ Queen of Acorns _

_ 2 of Diamonds _

Not the best deck he’d ever been dealt, but considering the 2 Gilbreath Shuffles in play, it was to be expected. He’d have to get rid of all the common cards if he wanted to play the way he knew best, the World play. Failing any suitable draws for World within 5 draws, he’d default to Truth. 

He placed his Root card, the Ace of Spades above the Templen field, and eyed the rest of the table.

The waitress had played an Ace of Clovers above her field. The Xingese woman a King of Diamonds, the Ishvalan man a Queen of Leaves, the other lady an As of Staves, the man who reminded him of Armstrong a Queen of Coins. 

He disregarded the Ace Roots, those would inevitably be low scoring unless someone managed either World, like he was doing, or Lead to Gold. His eyes strayed to the waitress’ Ace of Clovers. That could work in a Lead to Gold run, but he put the idea out of his mind, no one played Lead to Gold since the combinations needed were just too specific.

Bets were set, Ed placing markers on a 4 and a 6. The waitress bet on a 5 alone, everyone else had bet on face cards.

The waitress pulled a 5, tucking it into her deck, and passing a card on. The Xingese woman glanced at the card, and passed it on. Ed scrutinized it.

_ As of Leaves _ . He tucked it into his deck, and got rid of his 2 of Diamonds. The Ishvalan immediately passed it on, and so play flowed.

* * *

The game had been going on for 20 minutes now, no one had gotten a match. Ed was close, having an As of Leaves, Knave of Leaves, Banner of Leaves, and a 3 of Leaves from the Amestrian deck, and a 2 of Spades from the Cretan, not counting the Ace of Spades for his Root card of course.

Play was almost boring in its predictableness. Ed had learned that the cycle was Cretan then Amestrian, with the suits in this order: Hearts, Leaves, Spades, Coins, Diamonds, Staves, Clovers, and Acorns. Eventually of course they would run out of cards from the Amestrian deck, what with it being so much smaller than the Cretan, but that was just how the game worked. You were competing for the Amestrian cards, not the Cretan.

Of course, Ed had known this beforehand, and had hidden cards up his sleeves for just this sort of occasion, not marked of course. He had to time the swaps well though, no need to cast suspicion on himself. 

The deck was dwindling now, the waitress picking up the card after winning the bet and immediately passing it. Spades was in rotation this time around, so he was waiting to get rid of his 7 of Staves and 5 of Leaves.

He glanced up at the waitress, as play shifted back to her, her manicured fingers deftly picking up the next card. Bets were called, the Ishvalan won, he passed it. 

Ed eyed the trash pile warily. He wasn’t looking forwards to having to divine the pattern  _ again _ . 

Bets were placed, the card was shown (a  _ 2 of Clovers _ ), the waitress won. 

“I win.” She said, placing her cards out. Ed blinked, wondering if he had heard correctly.

_ What? _

* * *

An Ace to an 8 _.  _ The so-called  _ Natural  _ play. 

“Would anyone like to play again she asked?” Ed glanced over at Fuery, who was still working on the machines, granted he had gotten through 5 already, but there were still about 15 needing to be worked on. 

Plus he wanted his money back.

“I’m in.” He said after a moment.

“Great!” The blonde smiled, and collected the cards, shuffling them herself this time.

* * *

This game moved quicker than the last, which was good for Ed’s mission. The bets and cards flew, and Ed had to employ more tricks to keep himself in the game.

Like moving the marking,  _ just so _ . He’d place a corner bet, several corner bets, then slightly nudge one over once the winning card was drawn. Of course this one wasn’t employed too often. He counted the cards, he continued holing cards up his jacket, he subtly marked a few cards by leaving a nail mark on the backs. 

No one had said anything during the whole time. Not even the waitress, who Ed had thought would have been able to call him out on something.

He refocused on the game, betting on Ace and 4. The waitress revealed an Ace of Hearts. 

A card Ed switched in. One that was  _ in his hand _ . 

He prevented himself from swallowing, that was a rookie move. He took the card, and slipped his switched in one up back his sleeve discreetly.

Ed swore he could feel her eyes tracking him. 

Play resumed, but Ed could feel himself breakout in a cold sweat.

* * *

She was forcing the cards. There was no way she  _ wasn’t _ . His hand shook as he gazed at his deck.

Lead to Gold. An Ace to a King. The hardest hand to get in Alchemie.

He spread his hand out onto the table, feeling like his throat was dry.

“I win.” He said, trying to cover up the dryness. He met her eyes, they were still piercing through him. He wasn’t even paying attention to her lips as she talked.

All he could focus on were those  _ eyes _ .

“Aw, I really thought I had it there! Want to play again?” Ed tore his eyes away from the table, and over to the casino machines, and felt mute horror dawn on him.

Fuery was gone. He hadn’t even fixed all the machines yet, but he was still  _ gone _ . 

“I actually have to get going.” Ed started to apologize, and felt something sharp stick him from under the table. He didn’t move. “But I can stay for one more round.” He acquiesced.

Her lips curled up into a smile. 

“That’s great! Wanna shuffle?” She held out the deck to him, and Ed eyed it with trepidation. 

_ Take it, or don’t?  _

Luckily the choice was put out of his hands, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

“Y-” He started to answer, and realized that he was looking at Riza Hawkeye. Ed glanced back at the blonde, blue-eyed waitress, her smile now a small smirk. He let out a chuckle.

He’d been played. 

“Sir, I need you to come with me for a moment.” Hawkeye said, her hand twitching to her sidearm. Not that she needed it, bested or not, Ed would’ve gone quietly anyways. 

“Oh, I guess that’s likely my ride.” Ed said, lying through his teeth so that the other people at the table didn’t get suspicious.

“Aw, I guess you have to go then. Shame you couldn’t play longer.” the waitress said as she played with the cards, tossing them backs and forth in her hands.

“Maybe next time.” Ed said, finally rising from his chair, and following Hawkeye out to the back of the Casino.

* * *

Havoc slid a gin and tonic over to Winry as she sauntered up to the counter, a shit eating grin on her face.

“How was the guy the Hohenheims sent?”

“Are you kidding me? He was  _ easy _ .” She smiled wryly. “Though I know under normal circumstances I would’ve had a lot more trouble. He was off balance because I’m new, and because we knew he was coming. He was compromised, it wasn’t really fair.”

“Hohenheims always had a lotta infighting, so that’s really nothing new. Heard that the Chief wants to take him on though.”

“That’ll put us right up against a war with ‘em. I doubt they’ll take it lightly if we snipe one of their best guys.”

“You never know. I hear Elric’s from the clean side of the Hohenheims originally. He just got dragged in.”

“You’re making me feel worse for destroying him that badly now, you know?” Winry said wryly. Havoc gestured to the glass in front of her.

“That’s why I made that.” She snickered.

“Never change Havoc.” She sipped at it, ruminating over something. Jean waited for her to formulate what she wanted to say. He was a good listener, which was why he was made bartender. “So… Elric will be working with us now?”

“Yep.”

“Does that mean you guys will start pickin’ on him for being the newbie?”

“Nope.” Winry sighed.

“I should’ve guessed.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Casino Alchemie is a bastardized version of like 3 different games from at least 2 different countries and the only thing I will apologize for is the fucked up win conditions. And no, before you ask, regular Alchemie is just as fucked up, there is no escape from the bad game design here.
> 
> Also, the cameos at the gambling tables were:  
> May Chang, Scar, and the Tringham Brothers (Blackjack)  
> Scar’s Brother, May (again), Dante, and Alex Armstrong (Templen/Alchemie)  
> I briefly considered shoving in the Crichton siblings but I don’t like Sacred Star nearly enough to justify watching it again for cameo appearances. The card decks they were using by the way, were the International/English version of the French deck, and a bastardized combination of the Swiss, German, and Italian decks. And no, I have no shame in doing that.


End file.
